The UK Commission on Bereavement was established in June 2021 to examine the key issues faced by bereaved children and adults across the United Kingdom.
The findings follow one of the largest ever consultations on bereavement support undertaken in the UK, which included over 1,000 adult and 100 child respondents to the UKCB’s surveys and evidence submitted from over 130 organisations [1].
The UKCB found huge gaps in support for bereaved people. Over 40% of adult respondents who wanted formal bereavement support didn’t get any [2], and of the bereaved children who contributed to the UKCB’s report, half said they did not get the support they needed from their schools and colleges [3].
This has led to the UKCB calling for more funding from all governments in the UK, and it is sending a clear message that robust strategies to deal with bereavement now and in the future are desperately needed. In addition, the UKCB says schools and employers should be required to have a bereavement policy.
As steering partners for the UKCB, the Childhood Bereavement Network welcomes the recommendations and looks forward to working with members, families and colleagues across the UK to make them a reality.
Alongside its key recommendations, the UKCB has set out a vision for bereaved people in the future:
- I am supported by my family, my friends and the communities around me
- I am sensitively supported by my school, college or workplace during my bereavement
- I am well supported before and during the death, and feel confident that the person who died received appropriate and compassionate care
- The things I must do after a death are simple and straightforward
- I am compassionately and helpfully supported by those whose job brings them into contact with me through my bereavement
- I have access to an affordable and meaningful funeral
- I feel secure in my home and have the right financial support
- I can easily find and access the right emotional bereavement support for my circumstances